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Sometimes it’s fascinating to discover another side of a person’s personality.
For example, hardworking businesspeople who turn out to be avid dog lovers...
Yesterday, I was working out at the gym.
I planned to finish quickly, but I got caught up watching TV.
The program was about Shigeru Yoshida.
Shigeru Yoshida was Japan's prime minister when the country signed the San Francisco Treaty in 1951, following World War II.
The TV program explained:
World War II ended in August 1945.
Tokyo had lost 50% of the town to bombings, and 400,000 American soldiers landed in Japan as the Occupation began.
The Japanese government’s goal was to establish a peace treaty with the world and return to the international stage.
However, there was significant debate on how to proceed:
The government wanted to align with Western powers like the US and the UK, while other parties argued for treaties with both the US and the Soviet Union.
Public opinion was evenly split.
Yoshida attended the peace conference in San Francisco and signed a treaty with the West.
During his stay, he also signed the Japan-US Security Treaty.
These decisions were entirely Yoshida’s, as they lacked widespread support in Japan. He was the sole signatory at the conference and planned to resign upon returning home.
The program then revealed a lighter side of Yoshida:
After completing his political duties, he bought two Cairn Terriers in San Francisco.
He named them:
San
Fran
When they had a puppy, he named it:
Cisco
Yoshida did not live in Tokyo but owned a large house outside Yokohama. He would often walk to the shore with his dogs, earning the nickname “Dog Prime Minister.”
It is said that he had more than 30 dogs in his life.
Incidentally, the Cairn Terrier is the same breed as the dog in the movie The Wizard of Oz.
Yoshida was renowned for his strong personality and his cigar, but this heartwarming story about his dogs was new to me.
It’s always enjoyable to learn about the softer side of historical figures.
Or perhaps we should take a moment to explore a person’s other facets—it might change how we view them.
Thank you for reading,
Toshiya